Month: February 2018

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Disconnected

Whew! I just tried to open this page and got the “not connected to internet” message–several times. Tried Pete’s computer which was fine, came back in, jiggled some wires, and here I am.

And what message did you get from that?

Honestly, God, the very first thing I thought of was how hectic my day was, and how I didn’t take time to connect deliberately with You in the morning. I am doing it now, at the end of my day instead of at the beginning.

You felt disconnected?

I did. All day long I was scattered. I’d woken with a migraine which went away a couple hours after I took my imitrex, and thank You and thank them again, whoever was involved in its formulation, but that put me behind schedule. 

But were you really disconnected? Is your internet service truly out, or did it just require a little effort, the tiniest focus and intent, on your part?

That’s all. It was weird.

Not weird. Wired. You just needed a gentle reminder that, despite your feeling disconnected, you are never truly disconnected from Me because I Am never disconnected from you. You might have to–as you say–jiggle your wires a minute, set your receptors and your attention on hearing from Me, and then what happens? Here I Am. Right where I was all day, patiently waiting for you to be ready, to reach out.

God, this connection we have, it is amazing. And I am so afraid that it is like my internet service is sometimes, temperamental, fragile, easily broken. Can I just say it? I am afraid I am going to wake up some morning and it will just be gone. You will just be silent. Or I will just be deaf.

I know. I know all your fears and where they originate. That is why I tell you over and over, in so many different ways, don’t be afraid; you are not alone; I will never leave you. The only reason it seemed to take years to hear directly from Me is that for years, you did not believe you could. You did not believe I would speak to you, “little you.” You tended to belittle yourself instead of seeing how great My Love is, how I long to reach out and connect to every single one of My Children, no matter whether they think of themselves as great, or small and insignificant. There is no one immune from My Love or My Presence. No one is so great that I Am not needed–although that need may not be recognized. And although many, many think themselves too small for My attention, no one is small or insignificant in My reckoning.

God, sometimes I try to quantify your love, and I just can’t. I can’t make it big enough or long enough or wide enough.

Do you remember when you first learned of infinity in math class? How you could keep adding a number at the end of a string of numbers and go on forever? Well, that is one metaphor for My Being. And since My Being is Love, there is no end, no finishing point, to My Love. There is no place and no time where anyone can move past My Love. There is no boundary beyond which My Love does not exist. I, and My Love, are Infinite. Most of your human conversations are about boundaries of some sort, boundaries of geography, of distance, of time; limitations of strength or duration. Even events such as your Olympic Games, where athletes push beyond previous boundaries and set new records, are based on the idea that each new boundary will someday be broken, perhaps by milliseconds. Such precise measurement of boundaries makes the concept of Limitless and Timeless impossible to understand with a finite mind housed in a body whose very physicality imposes constant limits.

So, Lord, I have to ask. If there is no place, no time, no existence where You are not…that is what You are saying, right?

That is what I Am saying.

Then what about Hell? What about that place of “wailing and gnashing of teeth”? That place where You are not. That place of torment that people go to, depending on different criteria but in a broad stroke sense, if they don’t live in a way that provides entrance into Your Presence forever, which is what Heaven is. Are You saying Hell isn’t real? Jesus talked about Hell.

This is hard to explain given the limitations of words and your experience. At the moment of what you call death, everyone will come into My Presence. No exceptions. Now, some folks will immediately rejoice. They will be able to perceive where they are (even “where” is not an accurate word). Let’s say it this way–they will be able to perceive My Presence and literally be engulfed in the Love, the Peace, the Joy that My Presence provides. Other folks, particularly those whose lives caused harm to others, or even to themselves, will also perceive My Presence, and the Light and Truth of that Presence will create a great chasm within them of regret and remorse. They will perceive in that instance every action, every thought, every word that was in opposition to what they are experiencing around and within them. It is that regret and remorse that will cause the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now, I want you to imagine for just a minute, in your finite way, that someone is in front of you in that kind of pain. Maybe that person even hurt you, way back when. What do you do now?

God, good grief. I am crying right now. I think, I hope, I would do anything, anything I could, to quell that pain for them. I hope I would. I can’t stand it, can’t stand the thought of it. Can’t You do something? Can’t You fix this?

You see, you have so much of My Heart in you already. I have done something, and the something I have done has the name Forgiveness. Grace. Mercy. Lovingkindness. So now imagine Me wrapping My arms around that regret, that remorse, and kissing it away. Now how do you feel?

Geez, God, now I am sobbing. 

And?

So much joy. So much giddy joy. Really? Me? This is really for me? That is what I would be feeling, if I were the one in pain. And if I were the one able to relieve that pain, wow. What an incredible feeling.

Love is the Greatest Power of all. It is Mine to give and it is Mine to withhold. Here is what so many cannot understand–I do not choose to withhold it. I could, of course I could. But then I would no longer be Good. I might be God, but I would not be Good. But as you are so fond of saying, I Am Good, all the Time. And Beyond Time.

God, you know one of my favorite verses is, the one who is forgiven much loves much.

Yes, that is why there is only Love in heaven. Even those you might consider the worst offenders, once mercy is extended to them, overflow for eternity with gratitude and love. And those who enter heaven with the most remorse initially are the strongest defenders and protectors of life on earth. To use your human terms, it is their amends.

Wow, God. That…that isn’t what I was taught. But it rings true. I have thought for a while that You had more to say on this subject…but I was afraid to ask.

You don’t have to be afraid to ask, or question. Just remember Who you are talking to, and lean into My Love.

So…there is no disconnection. In eternity.

Exactly. Now you begin to understand.

Can I ask one more question?

Of course you may.

What about faith? What about those on earth who have no faith?

A better way to phrase that is, who have no understanding. In that moment of death, they will all Understand. They will Know. They will Receive. And for eternity, they will Love and they will Give. Rest assured in that. Be at peace in that.

 

 

 

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Leadership and Trust

I just had another thought, thinking about leadership. It’s trust. I trust You. I do. But I don’t always trust folks. I don’t always trust folks who say they speak for You. I don’t want to be led astray, especially not in Your Name. And I don’t want to do that to anyone else, either. There’s another discomfort with the notion of leadership for me.

That comes back to what we talked about earlier, character. A leader’s heart is a loving heart. As long as you are walking in love, and speaking from love, you never need to worry about leading anyone else astray. And Love is your discernment as well. If you ever wonder if the counsel you are hearing from another is wise, and is right for you, use the love meter. Give it the love test. How does that counsel sit in your spirit? Is it occupying primarily a place of power, where others are forced to go along out of fear? Or is it emanating from love and concern for others? You have learned to measure decisions and weigh courses of action by gauging how peaceful they feel inside you, whether they bring you peace or increase your agitation. You have learned to follow the peace. Use similar assessment skills when someone else is seeking to be a leader in your own life or over your own heart–check their words and actions against what an attitude or action centered in love would look like or sound like. If it aligns, you know the action proposed is wise, and true, and then you can use your peace to determine if it is best for you, and in this time. But if the attitude or action reveals itself to be based in something other than love, such as fear, or pride, or arrogance, or prejudice, then you don’t even have to weight it against peace. It has already failed the love test. First consider love, then consider peace. Lastly consider joy. If whatever action you are contemplating meets all three of these, then you can feel confident about making a decision.

Humans err when they consider what they think is joy first, without regard to either peace or love. That can easily lead to a lifestyle rooted in selfishness. But if you approach your life first from love and next from peace, and lastly from joy, you will overflow with all three and you will not be able to contain all the blessings you will receive–nor will you be able to contain all the blessings you will be moved to give, for your heart and life will overflow toward others. Giving won’t then feel like a sacrifice or a burden, but will become a natural response, a counterpoint rhythm, as you share the many blessings you are receiving. And that, my dear, is leadership in action. Rooted in love, grounded in peace, and expressed in joy.

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Follow the Leader

Leadership. Ah, there’s a word. Lord? I am uncomfortable with that word. Why? I think I believe attention will require me to defend my…position, decisions, beliefs, and I don’t know how to. So I keep quiet and hidden. I need to realize that just because others disagree or are louder than me, that does not automatically make them right and me wrong.

Instead of thinking about information, and amassing a great amount of facts to prove your position or at least to explain the validity of it, think about Love, think about relationship. You can say, I am choosing this path, this way of being in the world, and here is an open invitation to walk alongside me on my journey. I am not looking for a leader, or a counterpoint opinion. I am settled in my decision.

A quiet way, Lord. That’s a quiet way.

Strength doesn’t have to shout. Strength just is.

God, I think a lot of my discomfort stems from the dinner table, growing up. I understand more now, but at the time, the constant debate, and Dad’s need to be right, meant somebody had to be wrong, and somebody was me. It was hard, especially when I had facts to back me up. Are You saying the facts don’t matter?

I Am saying something beyond facts is at stake here. People typically don’t commit their hearts and lives on a set of facts alone. You discern correctly now that your dad, for example, was motivated by something beyond facts, and that was the effect of his own childhood and feeling inferior to his older brothers. A true leader, just like the best teacher, inspires by character, and strength of heart, not rote words–especially not rote words spoken loudly or in anger. That is why Scripture says Jesus surprised so many of the so-called leaders of the day, because He taught with authority.

Isn’t authority knowing you are right?

Do you remember the example you heard years ago, about the difference between power and authority?

Yes, sort of. Something like, a Sheriff had both power and authority–the power was his gun and the authority was his badge.

Yes, and in the best of cases, the authority of the badge would be enough. If authority is respected, there is no need for raw power.

So, Lord, that brings up the question for me–which are You? I mean, You have power. You have authority. When do You use one or the other?

Here is a better question–what do you think motivates Me most?

I would have to say Your Love does. Right?

Yes, exactly. So both My Power and My Authority flow from and are sustained by and expressed through My Love. There are many times I could act from sheer Power, but I refrain, because Love dictates otherwise. There are times that I could thunder with authority, silencing other voices with My Wisdom and My Knowledge, but I remain silent–not out of obstinacy but out of an understanding born of Love’s wisdom that says sometimes humans need to come to the end of their own understanding in order to have an open mind for a greater Truth.

So, You…

So I do what I Am counseling you to do–invite others to walk alongside. Folks can learn a lot by spending time in My company. Folks can learn a lot by spending time with you, too. Your being willing to share yourself, to share your heart and the convictions expressed through a loving life, that’s leadership. That is the best kind of leadership, the kind that inspires by example. To recap, you don’t have to shout. (Please don’t, it doesn’t become you.) You don’t have to persuade (I would much rather you have heartfelt conversations than academically styled debates). You don’t have to coerce anyone to adopt your position, on anything–even Me, even My reality. Just live your life As If. As If I were real, and an integral part of who you are and all you do–which is exactly what you are doing now. Keep doing what you are doing. That is all the leadership I could ask for you to model.

So I don’t have to try to prove You exist.

Oh, little one, no wonder you feel you must keep quiet. All you can do is model what faith looks like in your experience. That’s it. That’s the invitation. That’s the premise. And for you, that’s also the reality. But it is not provable in any scientific or rhetorical sense. It is only experienced. So share your life. Let the curious find their own experiences. That is the only way faith is made real–by experience. Otherwise, it is merely what we started this conversation with, information and facts without any heart, without any power or authority to comfort, to strengthen, to heal, to encourage, to guide; in short, without any Love.

 

 

 

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One at a Time

Suddenly, I have so many need-to’s. My mind is trying to recall everything. Lord?

I brought the animals to Adam to name one at a time. They didn’t come en masse–that would have been overwhelming. You need to approach your to-do’s in the same way. Adam could never have named the giraffe if he’d been fretting over what to call the elephant. There is a place and time for Big Picture thinking and a time for the nitty-gritty details. You’ve had to bounce between the two, but for these next days, try to approach your tasks in the same way you were counseled to photograph in Florida–one bird at a time, rather than darting your focus from this bird to that bird to another bird. You will know when it’s time to switch to a wider angle perspective and consider the whole, but for this week, see each small task through before you begin to work on, or even think much about, the next one. That will help calm your darting thoughts. Not only will you feel calmer, you will actually get more done, with a greater sense of accomplishment. It’s not the way you usually approach a project. You usually try to juggle multiple pieces of its totality at once. Try this other way. You’ll be more productive and more serene. And yes, build in time to breathe! You can take mini-breaks as you finish a task. This is one of your issues–when you try to juggle and consider everything at once, you have the sense nothing is ever really finished, and you don’t let yourself stop, and rest, and enjoy a quiet moment. You also miss out on the satisfaction of accomplishment because your mind is already off and working on the next three things.

Gosh, God, it sounds so easy when You say it. So simple. But You’re right–it’s not how I think, not how I do things.

Remember, this isn’t a contest or a school day. This is your life, your beautiful, busy, multi-faceted life. Why not find ways to enjoy it more, in the actual doing and living of it?

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Full Circle

Lord, we’ve talked about north, about rest and peace; about west, the expansiveness I feel there; and about the south and my need to receive and connect. So what is left for the East, which I think of as the vision-place, the clarity view?

What do you see, looking East?

I see a shimmer, Lord, like sunlight dancing on moving water, the ocean at dawn. I see wings! Pelicans gliding on the currents, matching their movements to the interplay between air and water. I take a deep glad breath just picturing the scene in my head.

So, you see, for you, East is coming full circle. You integrate the peace of the North, the joyful, excited, enthusiastic energy of the West and the heartfelt connection of the South as you look East. East is your vision-place, yes–and also where you live on the map, the eastern edge of the US. Your vision, for a Utopian Eden, like a perpetual spring, will never be fully realized here on Planet Earth. You know this. But you will experience glimpses and moments, and those experiences are destined to grow for you in duration and strength, like a sunrise begins in twilight and grows to full day–but, and this is very important–only if you carry into each day’s beginning all the lessons of the other directions. Without these, the day will dawn overcast in your thinking and you will succumb once again to a heaviness of spirit. It’s all a choice. Remember, for this particular season of your life, in order to restore yourself, you need to work backwards.

North–Rest, Peace, Trust. Freedom from fear and anxiety, which cripples you.

West–Expansive Joy and creative expression, a direct result of peace

South–Re-connecting and connecting. Being willing to receive help, support and love.

East–Integrating all of these into a full life. Once you arrive here, then you can once again traverse the wheel clockwise, and give out and give back those gifts you have received.

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Summer’s Southern Gifts

Lord, You have talked to me about the North, and then about the West. Are we going to talk about the South now?

Yes, now it is time to move South on the wheel. What does South mean to you?

Lord, South means connection. The heart–my heart. What I love. Affection. What I am passionate about.

The South can become a place of zeal centered in the intellect, which is its danger for you. You’ve lived in that place before, mistaking effort for genuine enthusiasm, and you are there again. Other than these few minutes in the morning, you are parched for the water you find in the south. You are withering because you are not watering your closest relationships, other than your relationship to Me. But as I have told you, you humans are meant to connect with others, soul-connect, not just intellect-connect. You need to take some time and examine your heart’s garden. The state of your front yard is a perfect metaphor. What is going on in your garden?

Well, Lord, of course it is winter here literally, not summer. But last summer for the first time we hired professional yard help. And our well is broken, or dry. It doesn’t pump the water that flowers need to grow and thrive. And our drainfield failed, so when the guys came to replace it, they dug up the whole front yard, made a real mess digging up all the old pipe, and cutting out part of the sidewalk, but then they put in a brand new drainfield and leveled all the dirt. So now the septic system works, but all we have for a front yard is level dirt–which is going to turn into a mud field as soon as it rains.

You could use some excavation as well. The thought that you have to handle as much as you can by yourself is not helping you now, it is poisoning you. You fear to connect because you think your current vulnerability or need will turn your friends off, so you withdraw, thinking, I will get in touch when I have more to Give. Give them the Gift of Giving to you. The South is the place of giving and receiving, and in this cycle of summer in your journeys around the wheel, it is your season to receive. You can still grow a beautiful and abundant crop, but only if you avail yourself of all the love and support just waiting for you to reach out.

Gosh, God, it’s that important, huh?

Crucial, it is crucial. But as with everything else, it is up to you. So will you embrace this season of summer in your life? Are you willing to admit to your need and receive help? Not just task help, life-help. Heart-help. Water, soul-quenching streams. Can you say yes to receiving?

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Autumn Lessons

Lord, what is my fall lesson, my West lesson, on the wheel? I remember West stands for introspection. Isn’t that exactly what I am doing?

Remember the wheel is about balance. Think about what your friend wrote to you about the balance of a bicycle wheel. What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word “west”?

I think of the opposite of Looks-Within, actually–which reminds me visually of a cave. I think of wide open spaces, big skies, big mountains, huge canyons. I think of Big, period. Expansiveness. It is shorthand for huge, and abundance. And You know how I feel when I am there, as if anything is possible. I wake up differently there. I have all these creative ideas, visual ideas. Being west gives me this infusion of creative energy.

West feeds your soul, your inner self, in a different way than any other landscape does. And what comes pouring out of you from the west is different as well.

Music lives here in me I think, though I never equated the two before. But west is the seat of hearing, isn’t it?

Yes, West, the inner sanctum space in some cultures, is where you connect at your core with My Voice and with your own, and for you this connection thrives in spaces that mirror expansive thinking, and experiences of grandeur, grand vistas.

Lord, it feels like fireworks going off! I have ideas and energy! So why, how can I phrase this, why am I not feeling this now? I mean, I realize I MISS the west, literally. I have always had this sense of missing since my first visit in 1993. Pete and I were last there in 2011–seems so very long ago. But from a spiritual perspective, why am I not feeling what the West imparts?

Because you are viewing the West–which is also a metaphor for your autumn years, the years you are living now–as a closed, dark, constricted space rather than as a broad, wide, bright expansive place. Sunset can be as vibrant as sunrise–and can reach all across the sky as you have experienced. The harvest of your life experience now, at this stage, is brimming over with fruit, but you have been so focused on giving to others you have forgotten to partake yourself.

Lord, just thinking about “the West” I felt a surge of energy. The same surge I feel photographically when the light is magic. But that is just adrenalin, right? I mean, it is not sustainable.

It can be. If you can shift your focus up and out from the macro world you have been living in, of checklists and chores, and re-inhabit the larger world all around you, just waiting for you to notice and be present, you will have much more energy and enthusiasm even for those mundane chores. They will get done faster, leaving you with more creative time, which is what you crave.

Ok, Lord. Thank You. 

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Winter Gifts

Lord, I keep circling back around to the Four Directions.

What is your attraction to the Four Directions?

I love the balance of it. The aspect of stages of journey and growth, and the metaphors about how we perceive the world, and You, and ourselves. I like compasses and direction-finding, all the analogies.

 You have moved around the wheel many times, and you have stood or sat in the Center, trying to hold all the directions at once as balance. You always move around the wheel clockwise, corresponding to the seasons. You just began a new year, both in your calendar and with your birthday, and you are readying for a new business year as well. For you, the year begins in winter. For your friend in Australia, the year begins in summer, something beyond your reckoning, your experience. You’ve fallen ino patterns of thinking out of habit. So let’s walk the wheel backwards, in reverse, for a change. Jesus said, become as little children—that’s circling the wheel counter-clockwise.

That is counter-intuitive!

Let’s start where you are, in your year, in your body. Let’s start in the north, in winter, in the season of rest and reflection. Let’s start with all that is frozen and iced-over in you.

Lord, isn’t winter also about Wisdom and being an elder?

The Winter Gift of Rest is Wisdom, but that is not where you are, physically or emotionally. You still resist My Gifts of Rest. You eagerly embrace the gifts of the other directions, the other seasons of life, and relate them to work, to activity, to productivity. You resist winter’s gifts.

Doesn’t winter mean retirement: I mean that literally, like the last train station stop?

You are able to receive all three of the other directions within your life’s ages and stages—but not winter. So it is fitting we start here.

Some creatures hibernate all winter, sleeping away the cold in cozy dens, it is true. Others thrive in winter, making great migratory journeys to warmer climes. Winter can be about epic journeys—journeys to lands of plenty, to easier-to-find sources of nourishment and refreshment. Winter can be that for you. Think about your working life a minute. You often create your best images in a quiet winter setting, whether still and meditative or brightly vibrant. You used to always take your Florida vacation in winter, mimicking a migratory journey. You have sometimes used the slower months of winter to explore new creative outlets, or to write. Winter was a more balanced time of rest and creativity than it has become for you now.

So what am I supposed to do? In 2010 Patrick moved in. In 2011 Pete was sick. In 2012 we—he—renovated our gallery’s first home. In 2013 we had to leave that cottage and find, and renovate, new space. In 2014, we had a break, our last real vacation. Late in 2015 we bought SeaDragon and I had a lot to learn and quickly, to get ready for a new venture in a new place. Last winter we both hurt our backs, after the hurricane, and couldn’t go much of anywhere. This year we are once again moving, working to make a new space feel and look beautiful and welcoming. I don’t know how to balance work and rest—especially when I am trying to keep up with someone else’s pace.

You will miss all of winter’s gifts if you try to keep up. Remember the fox tracks you and Karen found in the snow in Carova, all those years ago? You need to set a pace for yourself that is sustainable, physically and emotionally and spiritually. What did I tell you before about choices?

To follow peace and joy.

So how much peace, how much joy, is your current pace providing? You are trying to skip over winter’s rest, morph it into summer’s pace of productivity and you are missing all of winter’s gifts in the process, gifts of presence of birds and wildlife. Gifts of words in books and essays, others’ words and your own. Gifts of subtle beauty in the landscape you are dashing right by. I want you to take up your walking stick and walk once again into winter. Amble a little. Set your pace to My rhythm. Do some of those winter delights that restore you. “Chill out” – a perfect winter turn of phrase. Allow your creativity to awaken and stir and stretch as you allow your body some rest and a slower pace. And if you must consider productivity, consider this—which images sell best, in your busy summer season?

The winter ones. Late fall to winter.

Exactly. The gifts you receive now will translate directly into summertime sharing—but only if you align yourself on the wheel to fully embrace winter and its gifts.

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Patterns

God, scripture says You don’t test us.

Why should I test you? I already know everything about you. I already know your heart.

Well, teachers test us to see where we are deficient–to show us, or themselves, where we fall short, where we have gaps.

Teachers need to ensure their students have a certain body of knowledge and skills in order to lead an integrated and productive life. Good teachers will assess both their students’ skills and knowledge, factoring in how they learn best. A great teacher will help empower students to continue to learn and grow beyond the classroom. There are other ways, better ways, to encourage and develop life skills than the concept of “testing” implies.

Like what?

When you and Pete got married, were you constantly demanding that he prove his love for you, or were you more focused on showing him your love, and how happy and grateful you ere to be together? And what about him?

We just loved each other, corny as that sounds.

It doesn’t sound corny at all. All that I Am flows from Love, to Love. Love is the beginning place, Love is the journey, Love is the destination.

Ok, Lord, but I have friends and family whose lives seem to be a series of, how can I say this, one-thing-after-another hard circumstances. It never seems to stop. And I am not even talking about the challenges we all eventually face if we live long enough, I am talking about a cascade of disasters. It seems as if more and more is being demanded of them. And if I may say so, it doesn’t seem fair.

Of course you may say so–you may say anything. I don’t want you ever censoring your thoughts with Me, as if you even could. So you are asking why am I giving them such hard circumstances.

Yes, Lord. I don’t understand. 

Imagine a farmer going out to plow his field. And imagine there is one part of the field that is rocky, and every time he plows there, he dulls or chips his blade. Imagine there is another part of the field where the ground is soggy, and poorly drained, and inevitably his tractor gets stuck in the mud there every single time. Now imagine this farmer getting up every morning and setting out to plow these same sections, perhaps imagining that this time all will be different–even though he has never removed the rocks, or tried to fill the soggy ground with better soil. Now imagine that same farmer actually neglecting the portions of his field that are good, fertile, cleared ground. How many crops do you think he will have? How much time and money do you think he will waste, constantly chipping his blade, always getting mired down in the muck? Now, finally imagine this farmer telling his neighbors, I don’t know what lesson God is trying to teach me, that I have all this bad luck farming!

Humans tend to repeat patterns, for good or ill. That is great when the patterns lead to good results, such as good health, loving and respectful relationships, wise stewardship of resources, and peace with others, but it is disastrous if the patterns lead to poor health, being taken advantage of, repeated abusive or neglectful relationships and so on.

When there is a pattern of behavior, or a pattern of results, you do well to come to Me for wisdom about changing the pattern. You can be sure it is not I Who is testing you in those kinds of circumstances. Instead, I Am the One trying to break through your destructive patterns and lead you in paths of life. You change by changing. Perhaps that means a different sense of responses so the outcome is different. One reason recovery programs are so successful is that they are based on the idea that different choices lead to different results.

So what is one concrete thing my friends or family could do?

The first, best thing to do is just to be willing to come to Me and talk about everything that is going wrong with a view to identifying the underlying pattern they may be repeating without even being aware of it. I have promised to lead My children in paths of righteousness. What that really means is, in paths that are right, and true, and perfect for that person. You can be sure My leading will always be centered in Love. For those whose patterns are lifelong, their hearts may be deeply rutted. I Am a gentle and loving shepherd. I will not push or prod or demand a quick pace. That is why the Psalm also talks about green pastures of plenty, and quiet streams. My Way is always the gentlest way. So I would say simply, come. Come, walk with Me. Lean on Me. Learn from Me. Love with Me. Live with Me.

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Road Trip

By the time you read this post, I will be out of town on a buying trip for a few days. While I am sure God will not be silent, and that His Presence is everywhere, I am not certain about internet access or carving out time to post while in the company of others.

I plan to begin posting again just as soon as I return to my home computer, certainly by the middle of next week.

In the meantime, I leave you with these thoughts.

If you are one of my regular daily readers, thank you. I imagine I will have lots to say when I get to sit here again! Maybe these few days are a time to begin a new practice of listening for yourselves. If you don’t already, take the few minutes you might spend reading this blog over the next few days, and instead, write out your own gratitude list. If you already practice gratitude, you might spend this time doing what I have just begun again to do, and write out some affirmations to concentrate on during your day, especially if your day gets busy, or stressful. What are the three most loving, most affirming things you wish someone, Someone, would say to you? Those words that would make your heart sing, somehow convince you that all will be well, or that would give you the direction you need if you are contemplating a choice? Why not write those down, even if they seem as if they are “only” your words, your hopes. And then, look and listen. Look and listen right that minute, look and listen throughout the next day. Do you hear, do you feel, do you see evidence of those words coming back to you in another, deeper, gladder, Truer Voice? I can promise you this: you are more deeply loved than you can imagine. My prayer for you while I am away from my computer for a few days is that this little hiatus will provide you with a personal experience similar to my own, convincing you how wonderful, how beautiful, how sacred, and how special you are to God, and how very much you are loved.